(CNS): Road users are being urged to be nicer and more courteous to each other and take a leaf from the tourism brand of ‘Caymankind’ as a way to reduce smashes and collisions. The government, police and all of Cayman’s Rotary clubs have joined forces to launch a new road safety campaign called “Share the Road” (see video below), aimed at motorbike and bicycle riders, and pedestrians, as well as motor vehicle drivers. Officials behind the campaign are urging all road users to think about others when they are driving and be nice to them.

The campaign was launched at a press conference on Thursday, where Dawn Cummings from Rotary, who is spearheading the project, described the number of accidents on local roads as “staggering” and said that most people can share a bad road experience.

“Too many members of our clubs have had personal negative experiences on the road or know family members or friends who have,” said Cummings, who is the immediate past president of the Sunrise Rotary Club. “Traffic offences in Cayman rose by 26% in 2016, with a total of 6,463 traffic related incidents reported last year and six fatalities on our roads, all large numbers for a small island like ours. But no matter the numbers, every death on our roads is one too many.”

Cummings, Matthew Forbes from the governor’s office and Joey Hew, the minister who now has responsibility for roads, indicated that the issue of having so many people from different backgrounds driving on Cayman’s roads could be a contributing factor to the high number of collisions but by exerting some “Caymankindness” on the roads, the community could come together to reduce the number of crashes that can kill or maim.

Hew said that roads are now being designed to make them safer, and he said his ministry would continue to pursue the expansion of public transport, encouraging people out of their cars or getting them walking and riding bikes where appropriate. The minister also brought up the idea of incentives rather than bans for people to begin using smaller greener vehicles.

The police also offered their backing. Deputy Commissioner Kurt Walton noted that the RCIPS was stepping up its efforts and had reopened the road traffic unit. He said speeding and drunk drivers remained problematic on the roads and that education campaigns were an important factor along with enforcement. Chief inspector Ian Yearwood pointed out that enforcement is only one element education; engineering and etiquette were equally important to keeping the roads safe.

This particular campaign is different, the Rotary organisers said, because it focuses on all road users and not just drivers, as is usually the case. Cummings said riders on motorbikes and bicycles had to consider their vulnerability on the roads and pedestrians needed to exercise caution too.

Cyclists are being encouraged to wear helmets and pay attention to road safety. Chief Inspector Yearwood said that cyclist should not be riding against the flow of traffic. While pedestrians are encouraged to walk towards the oncoming flow of traffic when there is no sidewalk, cyclist should always ride with the flow of traffic.

While there has often been talk about the idea of foreign nationals taking a driving test before being issued a Cayman licence, Yearwood said that they are now required to do a written test by the reciprocal arrangements in the Geneva Conventions relating to driving, which means that people coming to Cayman with valid licences from overseas have a legitimate right to access a local licence, which in turn allows Caymanian licence holders to drive overseas.

The campaign to encourage everyone to share the road in a spirit of harmony and courtesy will involve media promotion as well as school visits and community events, and will be asking all road users to think about who they are sharing the road with and how everyone can get safely to their destinations.

Comments (57)

Is using hand signals a part of the driving test? If not I’d like to see it introduced to emphasize the importance of using indicators. Letting other drivers know where you intend going is an important safety measure yet rarely do people here indicate. Isn’t it a road traffic offense? Why aren’t the police issuing tickets?

Maybe nice is the wrong word, every night people are being ‘nice’ to those joining the Linford Pierson Highway from Agnes way, letting out car after car but failing to notice that they are doubling the traffic volume on the road and slowing hundreds of other cars trying to get across the traffic lights by the cricket field behind them. Maybe fair would be a better choice of words, fair would be letting a car out for every 3 or 4 cars on the LPH. I know this junction will disappear soon, but being fair would cover merge lanes, where you merge like a zipper, not where 3 or 4 cars try and squeeze in the one gap left open, or hang back as no-one will let them in. Fair would cover not trying to cut round the traffic to get ahead and slow everyone down, like using the Old crewe road cut through at night, or the prospect point road in the morning, or Shamrock to cut ahead and cut off your fellow travelers. So might vote is being fair, not nice!

Really? I bet you are just perfect. What about the local minibus and taxi drivers? Stop where they want and when they want, no indication and the same pulling out into traffic? Drunk expats and locals? I personally know one local who frequently drove drunk ( he said so) because if he got stopped the police would let him go because he was well known…keep your comments to yourself until you are perfect. None of us, including me, are.

remember most of the bad driving comes from people who never drove a car in their life before coming here. Most of them ride bicycles in the mountains and walk. So its expected for them to drive like idiots, we need to tighten up on our driving exams and stop transferring licenses that are bought under the table (bandulo) in their country! And then they just simply come here and transfer it with no driving experience. See all the time

That would of course require Cayman to withdraw from the international treaty that allows us to drive on foreign roads without passing a test, so if you want to hire a car next time you go to Miami hope you have a US or foreign licence.

i think 7:23 is referring to obtaining a CI DL by means of examination and road test. CI driver licenses cant be transferred in Florida. You have to go through the full process of written and road examination before you are awarded a “temporary” FL drivers licence which expires annually.

Thanks to the Rotary Club for this initiative.
Cayman is a pedestrian society as well as a motor society and it is time for everyone to realize that ‘foot people’ and ‘cyclists’ have a right to the roads as well.
Unfortunately, as with most everything else in Cayman, there was no proper foresight or planning…. and habits evolved without correction from anywhere or anyone whether. the Government, the police or the residents. There needs to be ‘side of the road footpaths’ and bicycle lanes. Motorists need to know that that everyone has a right to the road and not just them and their big cars.
I pray for a safer Cayman and hope that we can enforce and adhere to more road safety.

Whilst I 100% agree with you, ALL cyclists on the roads need to be upholding the law as well. Cycling into incoming traffic is not being a responsible road user and has the potential to cause major issues. I understand people cycling on the sidewalks because our roads are not always safe, but this is not where bicycles are legally supposed to be. The Kimpton and the Marriott, whose bikes are very visible on the roads nowadays, need to be also doing their bit to make riders understand what is and is not correct before they take out their vehicles (because that’s what they are).

“Chief Inspector Yearwood said that cyclist should not be riding against the flow of traffic. While pedestrians are encouraged to walk towards the oncoming flow of traffic when there is no sidewalk, cyclist should always ride with the flow of traffic” … that is a big one… hopefully it will be enforced… there are a number of times when I have had to swerve to avoid and oncoming cyclist… sometimes at night. Very dangerous practice.

Or worse yet if they do have a light. See a white light approaching you in the night is hugely disorienting if you are a driver, it is blinding and you are unsure if it is a reversing vehicle with faulty lights.

5:17am. Your kind of attitude is the reason why there’s a urgent need to clamp down on drivers like you on the road , from your comment you sounds like you think that you own the road or always in a hurry . My advice to you slow down , because the life you might save might be your own .

Agreed. Some of these motorist on the road feel they are traffic cops. If you want to drive 10 miles below the limit then move over to the left lane, do not lock up both lanes. That is ignorant driving. Also, you see a round about in the distance, guess what you need to make a decision. Do not wait until you reach the round about to start making a decision. You may think you are a careful driver but you are just unnecessarily slowing down traffic because of your ignorance or lack of preparation.

This is an excellent statement from RCIPS. They have hit the nail right on the head! The accident figures are truly staggering and even more staggering for such a small island. Chief Insp. Ian Yeareood is right, Education for vehicle users should be top priority. The road rage is unbellievable, and in turn, causes accidents beyond belief. The drink driving is definitely problematic and should be addressed with the full force of the law. There’s also a large amount of high powered vehicles on Cayman. Far too big for the island and all the inexperienced drivers and “boy racers.” A small island like this doesn’t need powerful engines. You are not doing the mileage. Thankfully, the roads have improved immensely which is a God send, but unlike the UK and US and a host of other countries, you have no motorways. You don’t need high powered vehicles or you’ll be from West Bay to East End in 15 minutes!………..some are there in 5 minutes! Killing everyone enroute. Everyone seems to be in a hurry all the time. This is the Caribbean Cayman, not London or New York. Slow down! Think of other road users that may be a little slower in their pace, it could be the elderly or a new young nervous driver…………your little daughter maybe. Give everyone a chance to live their life without getting killed prematurely. However frustrating this maybe, and it can be, take a breath. Leave home 10 minutes earlier to allow for any disruptions. Stay safe and bring these accident and death figures down.

Not the ones here, but the streets are gold in His place. Can’t wait, but in the meantime we’ll have to be a little kinder to one another and stop driving like our world is the only one that matters. Life is a gift.
Running around like a nutcase chasing money and pleasure will not end well.

Being nice sometimes isn’t the best thing to keep traffic moving. I’ve also seen some who obviously don’t know who has the right of way on a roundabout nearly cause an accident by yielding to others who don’t have the right of way. I’d rather the police “patrol the road” and crack down hard 24/7/365 instead of doing it from behind their desks. Remember you’re asking the CaymanKrazyKind to also share the road. This includes some of the KrazyCaymanExpatKind too. Good luck with that.

My advice to the RCIP in regard to the motoring public is to start doing what has patently not been happening, namely to go after the morons. Readers, you know the types I’m referencing, no need to catalogue their misbehaviour!

I am tired of the crassness on these roads. For the first time in my life, I am seriously thinking of purchasing a bigger vehicle for safety reasons. If you are late, don’t yell at me. If you want to drive stupidly fast, do it away from me. Car horns are for emergencies, not another form of communication. Use your indicators – they are not just pretty lights for your car. If you can afford your fancy car, you can afford the fancy handsfree kit for your cell, otherwise stay off it. Learn that it is best to give way to the vehicle in front of you. To those flying into town along the Easterly Tibbetts Highway each morning, I love that you are so eager to get to work, but leave earlier, go slower and leave Mad Max III to Hollywood. The road is no place to vent or to bully. Wind your neck in, back off and take your bad attitude off the road.

That’s unbelievable how many traffic accidents happened last year on Grand Cayman roads , I thought I would never hear about so many in my lifetime . Says that something needs to be done about road users in the Cayman islands . I wonder if this is not caused by so many driver license been issued ?

Perhaps if people had to sit a proper test the driving wouldn’t be so terrible on this island and sensible people wouldn’t be so infuriated.

The thing that makes me so angry is the idiots on the road which are an accident waiting to happen, and unfortunately it’s people like those in the east end a few weeks ago that end up as victims thanks to the people that can’t stay on their side of the road.

It’s the little things, like driving with your headlights on full beam into oncoming traffic, not knowing what to do at a roundabout, not having the common sense that if you’re slow traffic in two lanes you keep to the left. Basics. But obviously far too complicated for the majority of this island.

Too little traffic enforcement for too many years = chaos (what we now have) and ONLY consistent traffic enforcement will change this.
Yes there are many people from all around the world driving here…but it’s mostly “CaymanKind” that I see driving like idiots…and Jamaicans (think bus / truck drivers) so it’ll do us more good to not try to blame this too on foreigners!

Everyone now knows the chance of being stopped by Police is very low…go figure.

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